Gaming Machine Capable Of Operating To Indicate The Number Of Bets, And Game Playing Method

ABSTRACT

Paigow Poker is executed by placing a bet using a bet screen  70  displayed on a liquid crystal display  10 . On the bet screen  70  is provided a bet-with-a-bonus button  201  in addition to an ordinary bet button  75 . When the amount of bet is indicated using the bet-with-a-bonus button  201 , a card game which is separate from Paigow Poker is executed as a bonus game subsequent to Paigow Poker, and the player is awarded a bonus payout based on an outcome of the bonus game. The odds when the amount of bet is indicated using the bet-with-a-bonus button  201  is ×1.7 which is set to be lower than the odds (×2) indicated using only the ordinary bet button  75.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims a priority from the priorJapanese Patent Application No. 2007-051807 filed on Mar. 1, 2007, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This disclosure relates to a gaming machine capable of operating toindicate the number of bets, and a game playing method.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventionally, with games in which a side bet game is executed togetherwith a main game, an operation of indicating the number of bets for theside bet game has been performed separately from an operation ofindicating the original number of bets for the main game. Additionally,with the side bet game, it has been determined whether or not to award abonus payout to a player thereof according to a game outcome in the maingame. Furthermore, the determination to award the bonus payout to theplayer in the side bet game was based on a condition that alow-probability outcome is realized in the main game, since the bonuspayout is relatively high (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,801B2,U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,711,525 and 6,874,786B2).

In the above manner, however, an opportunity for the player to beawarded the bonus payout in the side bet game is rare. Furthermore, inorder to participate in the side bet game, it is necessary, as statedabove, to take the trouble of indicating the number of bets for the sidebet game, quite separately from indicating the original number of betsfor the main game. Thus, there has been a trend that the player of themain game, who is discouraged by the above situation, will not willinglyattempt to be awarded the bonus payout in the side bet game, and recedesfrom the side bet game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the disclosure is to provide an unprecedented, novel gamingmachine and game playing method by adjusting the main game and the bonuspayout lottery through a one-time indication of the number of bets.

To achieve the object of the disclosure, there is provided a gamingmachine, comprising: an operation unit for allowing a player to indicatethe number of bets; a memory for storing the number of credits held bythe player; and a processor programmed to execute a main game using apredefined odds by executing processes of: when the player performs anoperation of indicating a predefined number of bets on the operationunit, (a) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined oddsand executing the main game; (b) randomly determining whether or not toaward a bonus to the player separately from the main game; and (c) if itis determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number ofcredits according to the bonus to the number of credits in the memoryand storing the sum.

Furthermore, according to another aspect, there is provided a gamingmachine, comprising: a display device for displaying cards which aredealt in a main game; an input unit for allowing a player to enterinstructions related to a progress of the main game; an operation unitfor allowing the player to indicate the number of bets of one of a firsttype and a second type for a win of the player's side in the main game;a memory for storing the number of credits held by the player; and aprocessor programmed to execute the main game by executing processes of:when the number of bets of the first type is indicated by an operationon the operation unit, (a) displaying, upon completion of the player'sperforming the operation of indicating the number of bets using theoperation unit, seven cards which have been dealt as player cards andseven cards which have been dealt as dealer cards on the display device;(b) displaying the player cards which have been displayed on the displaydevice, in an arrangement of a high-hand consists of five cards and asecond-hand consists of two cards on the display device, according to apredefined rule, based on the player's instructions using the inputunit; (c) displaying the dealer cards which have been displayed on thedisplay device, in an arrangement of a high-hand consists of five cardsand a second-hand consists of two cards on the display device, accordingto the predefined rule; (d) determining whether or not the player sidewins, based on each win-or-loss between the high-hands and between thesecond-hands displayed on the display device, and (e) adding the numberof credits calculated using a predefined odds to the number of creditsin the memory and storing the sum, when, otherwise, the number of betsof the second type is indicated by an operation on the operation unit,(1) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds andexecuting the main game; (g) if it is determined that the player wins,randomly determining whether or not to award a bonus to the player; and(h) if it is determined to award the bonus to the player, adding thenumber of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits in thememory and storing the sum.

Furthermore, according to another aspect, there is provided a gameplaying method which executes a main game using a predefined odds,comprising the steps of: when the player indicates a predefined numberof bets, (a) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined oddsand executing the main game; (b) randomly determining whether or not toaward a bonus to the player separately from the main game; and (c) if itis determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number ofcredits according to the bonus to the number of credits held by theplayer.

Furthermore, according to another aspect, there is provided a gameplaying method, comprising, so as to make a main game proceed, the stepsof: when a player indicates the number of bets of a first type for a winof the player side in the main game, (a) dealing, upon completion of theplayer's indicating the number of bets, seven cards as player cards aswell as dealing seven cards as dealer cards; (b) arranging the playercards and the dealer cards into a high-hand consists of five cards and asecond-hand consists of two cards, respectively, according to apredefined rule; (c) determining whether or not the player side wins,based on each win-or-loss between the high-hands and between thesecond-hands; (d) if the player side wins, adding the number of creditscalculated using a predefined odds to the number of credits held by theplayer, and when, otherwise, the player indicates the number of bets ofthe second type for the win of the player side in the main game, (e)changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds andexecuting the main game; (f) if the player side wins, randomlydetermining whether or not to award a bonus to the player; and (g) if itis determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number ofcredits according to the bonus to the number of credits held by theplayer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a bet screen displayed on a liquidcrystal display of a terminal according to a present embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an outline view of a card gaming machine according to thepresent embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an outline view of the terminal according to the presentembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of thecard gaming machine according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of theterminal according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the bet screen displayed on theliquid crystal display of the terminal according to the presentembodiment;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the bet screen displayed on theliquid crystal display of the terminal according to the presentembodiment;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the bet screen displayed on theliquid crystal display of the terminal according to the presentembodiment;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a main screen displayed on a frontdisplay according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a game processing program in the card gamingmachine according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a game processing program in the card gamingmachine according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing the bet screen at a bonus gamedisplayed on the liquid crystal display of the terminal according to thepresent embodiment;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing the bet screen at the bonus gamedisplayed on the liquid crystal display of the terminal according to thepresent embodiment;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing the bet screen at the bonus gamedisplayed on the liquid crystal display of the terminal according to thepresent embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of a game processing program in the card gamingmachine according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a flow chart of a game processing program in the card gamingmachine according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart of a game processing program in the card gamingmachine according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a flow chart of a game processing program in the card gamingmachine according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a table showing the difference between an ordinary betoperation and a bet-with-a-bonus operation;

FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing the bet screen displayed on theliquid crystal display of the terminal according to the presentembodiment; and

FIG. 21 is a schematic view of an exemplary application of the presentinvention to a table game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following, a multi-player card gaming machine according to thepresent invention will be described in detail referring to the drawingsbased on an embodiment implemented on a card gaming machine. Here, thecard gaming machine according to the present embodiment is one type ofmulti-player gaming machines comprising a plurality of terminals foraccepting inputs from the players and executes Paigow Poker, which is akind of card games. Here, Paigow Poker is a game in which each playerfirst bets a certain amount of chips, then the seven player cardssubsequently dealt as the hand cards of the player are divided into setsof five cards (high hand) and two cards (second hand), and compared withthe dealer cards, which are the hand cards of the dealer, to determinethe win or loss. If both the high hand and the second hand turn out tobe higher than those of the dealer, it is determined that the player haswon the game, and a payout is made according to the amount of bets.

The card gaming machine according to the present invention has, inaddition to an ordinary bet button 75, a bet-with-a-bonus button 201,such as a bet screen particularly shown in FIG. 1. When the amount ofbet is indicated by both the bet-with-a-bonus button 201 and the betbutton 75, a card game which is separate from Paigow Poker is executedas a bonus game subsequent to Paigow Poker, and a bonus payout isawarded to the player based on an outcome of the bonus game.

Here, odds is ×1.7 when the amount of bet is indicated by both thebet-with-a-bonus button 201 and the bet button 75, which is set to belower than odds (×2) when the amount of bet is indicated only by the betbutton 75.

In the following, for simplicity of description, the phrase “when theamount of bet is indicated by both the bet-with-a-bonus button 201 andthe bet button 75” may be occasionally expressed, for example, “when theamount of bet is indicated using the bet-with-a-bonus button 201”.

First, a structural overview of the card gaming machine 1 according tothe present embodiment will be described, referring to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 isan outline view of the card gaming machine 1 according to the presentembodiment.

The card gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment generallycomprises a table unit 2 at which the player sits and plays the game,and a panel unit 3 provided behind the table unit 2 to display animationimages of the dealer.

First, the table unit 2 will be described below. The table unit 2 has aplurality (five in FIG. 2) of terminals 4 referred to as satellitesarranged in generally a fan-like manner. Here, FIG. 3 is an outline viewof a terminal 4 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 4 comprises a liquid crystal display 10for displaying the bet screen (see FIGS. 6 and 7) described below andthe game outcome or the like, a touch panel 11 provided on the frontface of the liquid crystal display 10 and used for selecting the buttonswhich are displayed on the liquid crystal display 10 when selecting thebet target and indicating the amount of bet, an operation button 12 forperforming a payout operation, a coin insertion slot 13 for insertingcoins or medals, a bill insertion slot 14 for inserting bills, and acoin payout opening 15 for paying out, to the player, coins or medalscorresponding to the accumulated credits when a payout operation isperformed.

In addition, the touch panel 11 is also used for rearranging orselecting the cards displayed on the liquid crystal display 10.

Referring to FIG. 2 again, the panel unit 3 comprises a front display 21for displaying images of a dealer who is dealing the cards or deliveringthe chips, and contents of the cards being dealt or the like, speakers22 provided on the upper part of the front display 21 for outputtingmusic or sound effects along the progress of the game, and LEDs 23 whichlight up when a variety of effects are performed.

Here, the cards used in the card gaming machine 1 according to thepresent embodiment are same as commonly used playing cards, bearing“marks” which are composed of “suits” and “numbers” (see FIG. 8).

A “suit” indicates the symbol on the playing cards. There are four typesof suits: spade, heart, diamond and club.

A “number” indicates the numeral or alphabet on the playing cards. Thereare 13 types of them: A (Ace, equivalent to 1), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10, J (Jack, equivalent to 11), Q (Queen, equivalent to 12), and K(King, equivalent to 13).

A “mark” indicates the type of card determined by a combination of a“suit” and a “number” of the playing card such as, for example, “A ofheart”, “K of spade” or the like. Then, a card deck refers to a set of53 cards necessary for a card game, consisting of 52 cards, which is acombination of the 13 numbers and each of the four types of suits, plusa joker.

Next, a playing method of Paigow Poker in the card gaming machine 1arranged as above will be described, wherein the player who is going toplay the game sits in front of the terminal 4 and places a desiredamount of bet using the bet screen displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay 10. Subsequently, images of the player cards and the dealercards which have been dealt for the player and the dealer, respectively,are displayed on the front display 21 and each of the liquid crystaldisplays 10, which is followed by an operation of dividing the cardsinto the high hand and the second hand. Then, image effects announcingthat either the player or the dealer is the winner or image effectsannouncing that the result is a draw are displayed, based on the typesof the marks of the cards which have been dealt as the high hand and thesecond hand. Furthermore, credits twice the amount of bet (number ofcredits) which has been placed is provided as an award at each of theterminals 4 if the player beats the dealer. However, as stated above, ifthe amount of bet is indicated by both the bet-with-a-bonus button 201and the bet button 75, credits 1.7 times the amount of bet (number ofcredits) which has been placed is provided as an award. On the otherhand, no award is provided if the player loses to the dealer.Furthermore, the amount of bet is returned to the player if he or sheended in a draw with the dealer. Additionally, when the amount of bet isindicated by both the bet-with-a-bonus button 201 and the bet button 75in particular, a card game separate from Paigow Poker is executed as thebonus game subsequent to Paigow Poker, regardless of the player'swinning, losing, or ending in a draw in Paigow Poker, and a bonus payoutis awarded to the player based on the outcome of the bonus game.

Next, the arrangement related to a control system of the card gamingmachine 1 will be described, referring to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a blockdiagram schematically showing the control system of the card gamingmachine 1 according to the present embodiment.

The card gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment comprises,as shown in FIG. 4, a main control unit 31 and a plurality of terminals4 connected to the main control unit 31, and a variety of peripheraldevices.

The main control unit 31 is generally composed of a micro-computer 45 asthe kernel comprising a CPU 41, a RAM 42, a ROM 43 and a bus 44 fortransferring data mutually between these elements. The ROM 43 stores avariety of programs, data tables or the like for executing necessaryprocesses to control the card gaming machine 1. The RAM 42 is a memoryfor temporarily storing a variety of data which have been operated inthe CPU 41. Furthermore, the ROM 43 also stores face-up and face-downimage data of the cards used as the player cards or dealer cards.Particularly, with the card gaming machine 1 according to the presentembodiment, a card game which is separate from Paigow Poker may beexecuted as the bonus game subsequent to Paigow Poker as stated above,in which case the face-up and face-down image data of the bonus cardsused in the bonus game is also stored (see FIGS. 12 and 13).

In addition, the CPU 41 is connected, via an I/O interface 46, to animage processing circuit 47, a sound circuit 48, an LED driving circuit49, and a communication interface 50.

The main control unit 31 receives the player's bet operation informationrelated to the amount of bet from each of the terminals 4 and determineswhether or not a condition is realized to start the game of PaigowPoker. Then, upon starting the game of Paigow Poker, the main controlunit 31 assigns, based on a lottery result, the seven cards out of the53 playing cards to the player and the dealer, respectively (on thedisplay screen, the cards are dealt to the player and the dealer,respectively). As the result, the win or loss (either the player or thedealer has won, or they ended in a draw) is determined based on the handof the assigned cards, and the main control unit 31 transmits the resultof determination to each of the terminals 4. Subsequently, each of theterminals 4 increases or decreases the accumulated credits according tothe result of win or loss received from the main control unit 31.

Furthermore, the main control unit 31 identifies the terminal 4 at whichthe player's bet operation has been performed on both thebet-with-a-bonus button 201 and the bet button 75 according to the betoperation information received from each of the terminals 4, selects,for the identified terminal 4, seven cards from the 53 playing cardsbased on a lottery result, regardless of the win or loss result ofPaigow Poker, and assigns the player with the selected seven cards, in acondition that one of the seven cards has been replaced with a bonuscard (on the display screen, seven cards are dealt to the player withtheir faces down). Subsequently, at those terminals 4, the playerselects one card from the seven cards which have been dealt. Then, themain control unit 31 receives the operation information from theterminal 4, determines the win or loss of the bonus indicating whetheror not the player has drawn a bonus card, and transmits thedetermination result to the terminal 4. Subsequently, based on theresult of win or loss for the bonus which is received from the maincontrol unit 31, the terminal 4 increases the accumulated credits byamount of the bonus payout, only when the player has drawn the bonuscard.

In addition, the main control unit 31 also outputs image signals to bedisplayed on the front display 21, and controls driving of the speakers22 and the LEDs 23.

Next, the arrangement related to a control system of the terminal 4 willbe described, referring to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a block diagramschematically showing the control system of the terminal 4 according tothe present embodiment.

The terminal 4 according to the present embodiment is generally composedof a microcomputer 55 as the kernel comprising a CPU 51, a RAM 52, a ROM53 and a bus 54 for transferring data mutually between these elements,as shown in FIG. 5. ROM 43 includes a variety of programs, data tablesor the like stored therein for executing necessary processes to controlthe terminal 4. The RAM 52 is a memory for temporarily storing a varietyof data which have been operated in the CPU 51, such as the number ofcredits (that is, the number of credits held by the player at theterminal 4) currently accumulated on the terminal 4, the bet target onwhich the player placed a bet, the bet type (whether or not thebet-with-a-bonus button 201 has been used), the amount of bet (number ofcredits) which has been placed on the bet target or the like.

In addition, the CPU 51 is connected, via an I/O interface 56, to aliquid crystal panel driving circuit 57, a touch panel driving circuit58, a hopper driving circuit 59, a payout complete signal circuit 60,and a communication interface 61. Furthermore, a liquid crystal display10 is connected to the liquid crystal panel driving circuit 57, a touchpanel 11 is connected to the touch panel driving circuit 58, a hopper 62is connected to the hopper driving circuit 59, and a coin detectingsensor 63 is connected to the payout complete signal circuit 60,respectively. Additionally, the main control unit 31 is connected to thecommunication interface 61.

Based on operation information which is output from the touch panel 11,the CPU 51 calculates the amount of bet (number of credits) placed bythe player, then, together with information about whether or not the betoperation has been performed using the bet-with-a-bonus button 201 (typeof bet), stores them into the RAM 52 and transmits them to the maincontrol unit 31. Furthermore, the CPU 51 increases or decreases theaccumulated credits according to the win or loss the bonus transmittedfrom the main control unit 31. Additionally, when the player hasperformed the bet operation using the bet-with-a-bonus button 201, theCPU 51 increases the accumulated credits according to the win or lossfor the bonus transmitted from the main control unit 31.

In addition, the CPU 51 also outputs image signals to be displayed onthe liquid crystal display 10, and controls payout of coins from thecoin payout opening 15 by the hopper 62 and the coin detecting sensor63.

Next, a bet screen 70 which is displayed on the liquid crystal display10 of the terminal 4 when Paigow Poker is played on the card gamingmachine 1 according to the present embodiment will be described,referring to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 1 and FIGS. 6 to 8 arediagrams showing the bet screen 70 displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay 10 of the terminal 4. Here, with the card gaming machine 1according to the present embodiment, the player uses the bet screen 70and the touch panel 11 to perform a bet operation of placing a certainamount of credits. With regard to this, the bet operation includes anordinary bet operation which is performed only on the bet button 75without using the bet-with-a-bonus button 201, and a bet-with-a-bonusoperation which is performed on both the bet-with-a-bonus button 201 andthe bet button 75. In addition, an operation of dealing the hand cardsas the high hand and the second hand can also be performed.

As shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 6 to 8, the bet screen 70 comprises aplayer card display area 71 for displaying the face-up images 87 (seeFIG. 8) and the face-down images 88 (see FIGS. 1, 6 and 7) of the cardsdealt to the player, a chip display area 73 for displaying a image 72(see FIGS. 6 to 8) of the chips which have been bet, and an informationdisplay area for displaying a variety of operation buttons andinformation of the player.

Here, the image 72 of chips (see FIGS. 6 and 8) includes an image 72A ofchips (see FIGS. 6 to 8) which is displayed for a bet-with-a-bonusoperation performed on both the bet-with-a-bonus button 201 and the betbutton 75, and an image 72B of chips (see FIG. 7) which is displayed foran ordinary bet operation performed only on the bet button 75 withoutusing the bet-with-a-bonus button 201. With regard to this, both images72A and 72B of chips are distinctly displayed using different colors orthe like, although not shown.

Here, the player card display area 71 is a display area for displayingthe face-up images 87 and face-down images 88 of the player cards whichare dealt to the player. The face-down images 88 of the player cards aredisplayed (see FIGS. 1, 6 and 7) immediately after having been dealt tothe player so that their marks cannot be identified, and subsequentlytheir face-up images 87 are displayed (see FIG. 8) so that their markscan be identified. Then, the images 87 and 88 of the seven cardsdisplayed on the player card display area 71 become the cards to bedealt to the player who is sitting at the terminal 4 to play the game.In addition, the player may operate the touch panel 11 so that theplayer cards which have been dealt can be freely divided into a highhand consisting of a set of five cards and a second hand consisting of aset of two cards, within the range of the house rule.

Particularly, the five cards on the left hand side of the bet screen 70are the cards divided as the high hand in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 6 to 8, andthe two cards on the right hand side are the cards divided as the secondhand. The player can operate the touch panel 11 to rearrange the sevencards displayed on the player card display area 71 so that the dividingof the high hand and the second hand can be changed.

The chip display area 73 displays the image 72 of chips corresponding tothe amount of bet placed by the player (for example, chips correspondingto 50 credits are bet in FIGS. 6 to 8). The player then selects theamount of bet using the bet button 75, determines the amount of bet bytouching the chip display area 73. The terminal 4 transmits thedetermined amount of bet to the main control unit 31.

In addition, a plurality of the bet buttons 75 (three in the presentembodiment, i.e., “one credit”, “10 credits”, and “100 credits”) areprovided on the lower right hand side of the chip display area 73. Then,the player can select the amount of bet to be placed in the current gameby touching the bet button 75.

Additionally, the bet-with-a-bonus button 201 is provided above the betbutton 75. The player can indicate the amount of bet using the betbutton 75 as a bet-with-a-bonus operation by touching thebet-with-a-bonus button 201 once.

However, if the amount of bet is indicated by using only the bet button75 without touching the bet-with-a-bonus button 201, the operation turnsout to be an ordinary bet operation.

Furthermore, a Repeat bet button 76 and an UNDO bet button 77 areprovided above the bet button 75. The player can place a bet which isthe same amount of bet as the previous game by touching the Repeat betbutton 76. In addition, a bet operation performed once can be canceledby touching the UNDO bet button 77. Furthermore, a bet-with-a-bonusoperation can be canceled by touching the UNDO bet button 77.

In addition, a HELP button 84 is provided on the lower left hand side ofthe chip display area 73. The HELP button 84 is a button to be touchedwhen displaying operation instructions of the card gaming machine 1 onthe liquid crystal display 10. Additionally, a message area 85 fordisplaying messages that support the progress of the game is provided onthe right hand side of the HELP button 84.

On the message area 85, messages such as “BET WITH BONUS IS INDICATED!YOUR ODDS ARE ×1.7. YOU WILL HAVE A BONUS GAME!” are displayed, as shownin FIG. 6 or 8 while a bet-with-a-bonus operation is being performed.While, on the other hand, an ordinary bet operation is being performed,messages such as “ORDINARY BET. YOUR ODDS ARE ×2.” are displayed, asshown in FIG. 7.

At the lower part of the bet screen 70, a bet amount display area 90 fordisplaying the amount of bet currently placed by the player, anacquisition amount display area 91 for displaying the amount provided tothe player as an award in the game, a held credit display area 92 fordisplaying the number of credits currently held by the player, alower-limit-of-bet-amount display area 93 displaying the lower limit ofthe amount of bet that can be placed by the player, and anupper-limit-of-bet-amount display area 94 displaying the upper limit ofthe amount of bet that can be placed by the player are provided.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 8, a win-or-loss display area 95indicating the win or loss of the player and the dealer in the currentgame is provided on the left hand side of the player card display area71. Here, win or loss in Paigow Poker is determined such that the partywho achieved a higher hand in both the high hand and the second handbecomes the winner, whereas the game ends in a draw if either one ishigher. In this manner, a character string “DRAW” is displayed on thewin-or-loss display area 95 when the outcome is a draw. If the playerwins, a character string “YOU WON” is displayed on the win-or-lossdisplay area 95. Furthermore, a character string “YOU LOST” is displayedon the win-or-loss display area 95 when the player is defeated.

Next, a main screen 101 displayed on the front display 21 will bedescribed referring to FIG. 9, when playing Paigow Poker in the cardgaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the main screen 101 displayed on the frontdisplay 21. Here, with the card gaming machine 1 according to thepresent embodiment, an image 102 of the dealer animated to performdealing of the cards along the progress of the game is displayed on themain screen 101 in order to improve the sense of reality of the game.

An image 103 of the dealer cards, which are the dealer's hand cardsdealt to the dealer, is displayed generally in the middle of the mainscreen 101. Here, with the card gaming machine 1 according to thepresent embodiment, seven cards are dealt as the dealer cards, as withthe case of player cards. The dealer cards are then displayed on themain screen 101 in a condition divided into the high hand and the secondhand, according to the house rule (for example, the five high hand cardsare displayed on the upper part of FIG. 9, and the two second hand cardsare displayed on the lower part).

Next, a game processing program executed by the CPU 41 of the maincontrol unit 31 and a game processing program at the terminal sideexecuted by the CPU 51 of the terminal 4, respectively in the cardgaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment, will be described,referring to FIGS. 10 and 11. Here, respective programs shown as a flowchart in FIGS. 10 and 11 are stored in the RAM 42 or the ROM 43 providedin the main control unit 31, or the RAM 52 or the ROM 53 provided in theterminal 4, and are executed by the CPU 41 or the CPU 51.

First, the game processing program executed by the main control unit 31will be described, referring to FIGS. 10 and 11. In step (abbreviated toS hereafter) 1, the CPU 41 assigns a total of five card decks for eachof the terminals 4 by lottery.

Subsequently, in S2, the CPU 41 executes a dealer card lotteryprocessing to draw dealer cards which are the hand cards of the dealer.Specifically, assuming that there are N cards (N=53 in Paigow Poker) asa set of the card deck to be used in the game, a number within the rangeof 1 to N is associated with each one of the cards composing the carddeck assigned to respective terminals 4. Then, seven numbers within therange of 1 to N is drawn in S2, and the seven cards which are associatedwith the drawn numbers become the dealer card (that is, dealt to thedealer).

Next, in S3, a player card lottery processing is executed to draw playercards which are the hand cards of the player from the card deck assignedto each of the terminals 4 in S1. Specifically, a number within therange of 1 to 46 (dealing order) is associated with the 46 cards of the53 cards, excluding the seven cards selected as the dealer cards in S2,which compose each card deck. Then, seven numbers within the range of 1to 46 are drawn for each of the five sets of card decks, and the sevencards associated with the drawn numbers become the player cards ofrespective terminals 4 (that is, dealt to the player).

Subsequently, in S4, the CPU 41 transmits, to each of the terminals 4,an instruction to start a betting period for accepting the player's betoperation.

Next, in S5, the CPU 41 receives bet information transmitted from eachof the terminals 4. Here, the bet information includes informationrelating to the amount of bet (number of credits) placed by the player,or information relating to the type of bet (whether or not the betoperation has been performed using the bet-with-a-bonus button 201)placed by the player. In addition, the received bet information of eachterminal 4 is temporarily stored in the RAM 42.

Subsequently, in S6, the CPU 41 transmits, to each of the terminals 4,information relating to the seven player cards dealt to the player whois playing the game at each of the terminals 4 (for example, informationabout the marks such as “7 of heart” or “A of spade”), based on thelottery result of the player card lottery processing of S3. Then, in S7,the image 102 of the dealer who deals seven cards respectively to theplayer and the dealer is displayed on the front display 21 as the mainscreen 101 (see FIG. 9). Here, for the seven dealer cards which havebeen dealt to the dealer, face-down images 103 are displayed so that thetypes of marks are not shown.

Next, in S8, the CPU 41 receives information transmitted from theterminal 4 relating to the dividing of the player cards into the highhand and the second hand. With the card gaming machine 1 according tothe present embodiment, the player can freely divide, within the rangeof the house rule, five cards for the high hand and two cards for thesecond hand.

Subsequently, in S9, the CPU 41 divides the seven dealer cards selectedin S2 into the high hand and the second hand, according to the houserule. Furthermore, the dealer cards shown on the main screen 101displayed on the front display 21 are changed from face-down to face-upimages 103, whereby showing the dealer cards which have been dividedinto the high hand and the second hand (see FIG. 9).

Then, in S10, the CPU 41 compares the dealer cards and the player cardsfor the high hand and the second hand, respectively and determines thewin or loss. Specifically, it is determined based on the hand of thecards, such that if the dealer card has achieved a higher hand in boththe high hand and the second hand, the dealer becomes the winner. On theother hand, if the player card has achieved a higher hand in both thehigh hand and the second hand, the player becomes the winner. The gameends in a draw for cases other than the above-mentioned patterns. Sincetypes of hands in Paigow Poker are well known, their explanation isomitted here.

Subsequently, in S11, the determination result of win or loss of S10 istransmitted to each of the terminals 4. Additionally, in S12, the CPU 41displays, on the main screen 101 of the front display 21, anannouncement image announcing the determination result of win or loss ofeach of the terminals 4.

Furthermore, in S13, the CPU 41 determines whether or not abet-with-a-bonus operation has been performed. The determination isbased on the bet information received from each of the terminals 4, andit is determined that a bet-with-a-bonus operation has been performedwhen a bet has been placed using the bet-with-a-bonus button 201. Here,for a terminal 4 which is determined that no bet-for-a-bonus operationhas been performed thereon (S13: NO), the game processing programterminates without doing anything. On the other hand, for a terminal 4which is determined that a bet-with-a-bonus operation has been performedthereon (S13: YES), the process flow proceeds to a game processingprogram shown in FIG. 15 described below.

Next, the game processing program executed by the terminal 4 will bedescribed, referring to FIGS. 10 and 11. In S101, the CPU 51 receivesthe instruction to start the betting period from the main control unit31.

Subsequently, in S102, the CPU 51 displays the bet screen 70 (see FIGS.1, 6, 7 and 8) on the liquid crystal display 10, and identifies theamount of bet (the number of credits) which has been placed, based onoperation information from the touch panel 11. In addition, the CPU 51identifies the type of bet placed by the player (whether or not a betoperation has been performed using the bet-with-a-bonus button 201).Furthermore, the CPU 51 displays the images 72A and 72B of chips on thebet screen 70 in a distinct manner, based on the identified type of bet.

Next, in S103, the CPU 51 determines whether or not the betting periodhas expired. Specifically, it is determined whether or not a predefinedtime length (e.g. 20 sec) has passed since accepting the bet operationwas started in S102.

If it is determined that the betting period has not expired (S103: NO),accepting the bet operation is continued. If, on the other hand, it isdetermined that the betting period has expired (S103: YES), the processflow proceeds to S104.

In S104, the CPU 51 transmits the bet information to the main controlunit 31. Here, the bet information includes the information relating tothe amount of bet (the number of credits) placed by the player, or theinformation relating to the type of bet (whether or not the betoperation has been performed using the bet-with-a-bonus button 201)placed by the player.

Additionally, in S105, the CPU 51 receives, from the main control unit31, the information of the seven player cards (information such as typeof mark) which have been dealt to the terminal 4. Then, in S106, the CPU51 displays the seven player cards associated with the bet screen 70,based on the information of the cards received in S105. Here, the playercards displayed in S106 are first displayed as face-down images 88 sothat their marks can not be identified (see FIGS. 1, 6 and 7). Then,after a predefined time length (e.g., three seconds) has passed, theplayer cards are displayed as face-up images 87 so that their marks canbe identified (see FIG. 8).

Subsequently, in S107, the CPU 51 starts accepting the operation ofchanging the dividing of the high hand and the second hand for theplayer cards displayed on the bet screen 70. Then, in S108, it isdetermined whether or not an update operation of the dividing has beenperformed. If it is determined that an update operation has beenperformed (S108: YES), the process flow proceeds to S109 where the typesof cards divided into the high hand and the second hand are changed, andthe arrangement of the player cards displayed on the bet screen 70 ischanged.

If, on the other hand, it is determined that an operation of changingthe dividing of the high hand and the second hand has not been performed(S108: NO), the process flow proceeds to S110.

In S110, it is determined whether or not a predefined time length (e.g.,15 seconds) has passed since the accepting operation was started inS107. If it is determined that the predefined time length has passed(S110: YES), dividing information of the high hand and the second handof the current player cards is transmitted to the main control unit 31(S111). If, on the other hand, it is determined that the predefined timelength has not passed (S110: NO), the process flow returns to S108.

Next, in S112, the CPU 51 receives the determination result of win orloss transmitted from the main control unit 31. Then, in S113, the CPU51 displays, on the liquid crystal display 10, the determination resultof win or loss of the player who is playing at the terminal 4, based onthe determination result of win or loss received in S112. Specifically,a character string “DRAW” is displayed on the win-or-loss display area95 of the bet screen 70 (see FIG. 8) when the result turned out to be adraw. If the player wins, a character string “YOU WON” is displayed.Furthermore, a character string “YOU LOST” is displayed if the playerloses.

Subsequently, in S114, the CPU 51 determines whether or not abet-with-a-bonus operation has been performed, based on the betinformation transmitted in S104.

Here, also in this determination, it is determined that abet-with-a-bonus operation has been performed when a bet has been placedusing the bet-with-a-bonus button 201.

Then, if it is determined that no bet-with-a-bonus operation has beenperformed (S114: NO), an ordinary payout is made. Specifically, creditstwice as many as the amount of bet are paid to the player if the playerdefeats the dealer, whereas just the amount of bet is paid in the caseof a draw (S115).

If, on the other hand, it is determined that a bet-with-a-bonusoperation has been performed (S114: YES), a payout is made with theamount of the award changed from the case of S115. Specifically, credits1.7 times as many as the amount of bet are paid to the player if theplayer defeats the dealer, whereas just the amount of bet is paid in thecase of a draw (S116). Then the process flow proceeds to the gameprocessing program shown in FIG. 15 described below.

Next, the bet screen 70 displayed on the liquid crystal display 10 ofthe terminal 4 when executing the bonus game in the card gaming machine1 according to the present embodiment will be described, referring toFIGS. 12 to 14. FIGS. 12 to 14 show the bet screen 70 displayed on theliquid crystal display 10 of the terminal 4 when executing the bonusgame. Here, with the card gaming machine 1 according to the presentembodiment, when the bonus game is executed subsequent to Paigow Poker,face-down images 88 of the seven cards are displayed on the player carddisplay area 71 of the bet screen 70 in an evenly spaced apart manner,as shown in FIG. 12. Simultaneously, a message “PAIGOW BONUS GAME!CHOOSE A CARD YOU LIKE” is displayed on the message area 85 of the betscreen 70.

The player then selects a card he or she likes by touching a face-downimage 88 of the card using the touch panel 11 on the bet screen 70 whenexecuting the bonus game. Subsequently, on the bet screen 70 whenexecuting the bonus game, the face-down image 88 of the card touched bythe player is changed to a face-up image 87, as shown in FIG. 13 or 14.In this occasion, as shown in FIG. 13, a character string “YOU GOT 500CREDITS!”, for example, is displayed on the message area 85 of the betscreen 70 if the face-up image 87 is a bonus card having a characterstring “BONUS” described on its surface. If, on the other hand, theface-up image 87 is a playing card, a character string “YOU LOST!” isdisplayed on the message area 85 of the bet screen 70, as shown in FIG.14.

Next, with regard to the bonus game which has been executed subsequentto Paigow Poker, a game processing program executed by the CPU 41 of themain control unit 31 and a game processing program at the terminal sideexecuted by the CPU 51 of the terminal 4, respectively, in the cardgaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment will be described,referring to FIG. 15. Here, respective programs shown as a flow chart inFIG. 15 are stored in the RAM 42 or the ROM 43 provided in the maincontrol unit 31, or the RAM 52 or the ROM 53 provided in the terminal,and are executed by the CPU 41 or the CPU 51.

First, the game processing program executed by the main control unit 31will be described, referring to FIG. 15. The main control unit 31executes the game processing program for the terminal 4 which isdetermined in S13 of the above-mentioned FIG. 11 that a bet-with-a-bonusoperation has been performed thereon (S13: YES). In S21, the CPU 41executes a lottery processing of the number of credits for the bonusgame. In the lottery processing of the number of credits for the bonusgame, a number of credits within the range of 100 to 500 is acquired.The lottery may be executed either by hardware or software.

Subsequently, in S22, the CPU 41 executes a bonus game card lotteryprocessing to deal cards to the player for the bonus game. Specifically,assuming that there are N cards (N=53) as a set of the card deck to beused in the bonus game, a number within the range of 1 to N isassociated with each of the cards composing the card deck assigned tothe terminal 4. Then, in S22, seven numbers within the range of 1 to Nis drawn, and the seven cards associated with the drawn numberstemporarily become the cards for the bonus game. Furthermore, in S22,one of the seven cards is drawn, and the drawn card is replaced with oneof the bonus cards. Here, a bonus card is a card having a characterstring “BONUS” described on its face (see FIG. 13).

Subsequently, in S23, the CPU 41 transmits, to the terminal 4,information relating to the seven cards dealt to the player who isplaying the bonus game at the terminals 4 (for example, informationabout the marks such as “7 of heart” or “A of spade”, or informationabout the “BONUS”), based on the lottery result of card lotteryprocessing for the bonus game of S22.

Next, in S24, the CPU 41 receives information transmitted from theterminal 4 relating to the selection of the card. Then, in S25, the CPU41 determines the win or loss of bonus game, based on the informationreceived in S24 from the terminal 4 relating to the selection of thecard. Specifically, the player wins if the card selected by the playeris a bonus card, whereas the player loses if the card selected by theplayer is a playing card. Then, if the player wins, the number ofcredits acquired in S21 is awarded to the player at the terminal 4.

Subsequently, in S26, the determination result in S25 of the win or lossfor the bonus is transmitted to the terminal 4. If the determinationresult in S25 of the win or loss for the bonus turns out to be theplayer's winning, the number of credits acquired in S21 is included inthe transmitted data.

In this manner, with regard to the bonus game which has been executedsubsequent to Paigow Poker, the game processing program executed by theCPU 41 of the main control unit 31 is terminated.

Next, the game processing program executed by the terminal 4 will bedescribed, referring to FIG. 15. In S121, the CPU 51 receives, from themain control unit 31, the information relating to the seven cards dealtto the terminal 4 (for example, the information about the marks such as“7 of heart” or “A of spade”, or the information about the “BONUS”).Then, in S122, the CPU 51 displays the seven cards on the player carddisplay area 71 of the bet screen 70, based on the card informationreceived in S121. Here, all the cards displayed in S122 are displayed asface-down images 88 so that their marks or the character string “BONUS”can not be identified (see FIG. 12).

Subsequently, in S123, the CPU 51 starts accepting the operation ofselecting a card out of the second hand for the player cards displayedon the bet screen 70. Then, in S124, it is determined whether or not apredefined time length (e.g., 15 seconds) has passed since the acceptingoperation was started in S123. If it is determined that the predefinedtime length has passed (S124: YES), operation information relating tothe selection of a card is transmitted to the main control unit 31(S1125). If, on the other hand, it is determined that the predefinedtime length has not passed (S124: NO), the process flow returns to S124itself.

Next, in S126, the CPU 51 receives the determination result of win orloss for the bonus transmitted from the main control unit 31. Then, inS127, the CPU 51 displays, on the liquid crystal display 10, thedetermination result of win or loss of the player who is playing at theterminal 4, based on the determination result of win or loss transmittedin S126. Specifically, if the number of credits acquired by the playerwho won in the bonus game is 500, the card selected by the player, outof the seven cards which have been displayed as face-down images 88 onthe player card display area 71 of the bet screen 70, is displayed as aface-up image 87 bearing the character string “BONUS”, and a characterstring “YOU GOT 500 CREDITS!” is displayed on the message area 85 of thebet screen 70, as shown in FIG. 13. If, on the other hand, the playerloses in the bonus game, the card selected by the player, out of theseven cards which have been displayed as face-down images 88 on theplayer card display area 71 of the bet screen 70, is displayed as aface-up image 87, and a character string “YOU LOST!” is displayed on themessage area 85 of the bet screen 70, as shown in FIG. 14.

Then, in S128, the CPU 51 executes a payout processing to add and store,in the RAM 53, the number of credits included as data in thedetermination result of win or loss transmitted in S126, and provide itto the player.

In this manner, with regard to the bonus game which has been executedsubsequent to Paigow Poker, the game processing program executed by theCPU 51 of the terminal 4 is terminated.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above examples,and various kinds of improvement or modification are possible withoutdeviating from the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the present embodiment, the number of credits providedto the player who won in the bonus game may be fixed to 500 credits orthe like, instead of the lottery in S21 of FIG. 15.

Additionally, in Paigow Poker with the present embodiment, when theplayer indicates the amount of bet using the bet-with-a-bonus button201, the odds for which may be changed (it is fixed at ×1.7 in the aboveexample). Therefore, it may be arranged such that, for example, the maincontrol unit 31 executes a game processing program shown in FIG. 16 at atime point W1 located in the middle between S5 and S6 of the gameprocessing program shown in FIG. 10. In other words, when the betinformation is received by S5 of the game processing program shown inFIG. 10, the process flow proceeds to S31 of the game processing programshown in FIG. 16 where the CPU 41 of the main control unit 31 determineswhether or not a bet-with-a-bonus operation has been performed. Thisdetermination is based on the bet information received from each of theterminals 4, and it is determined that a bet-with-a bonus operation hasbeen performed if a bet operation has been performed using thebet-with-a-bonus button 201. Here, for a terminal 4 which is determinedthat no bet-for-a-bonus operation has been performed thereon (S31: NO),the process flow returns to the game processing program shown in FIG. 10and proceeds to S6 without doing anything. On the other hand, for aterminal 4 which is determined that a bet-with-a-bonus operation hasbeen performed thereon (S31: YES), the process flow proceeds to S32.

In S32, the CPU 41 acquires, by lottery, an odds value within the rangeof ×0.1 to ×1.7. The lottery may be executed either by hardware orsoftware. Subsequently, in S33, the CPU 41 includes the odds valueacquired in S32 into the player card information (see S6 of FIG. 10),then the process flow returns to the game processing program shown inFIG. 10 and proceeds to S6.

In this manner, when the main control unit 31 executes the gameprocessing program shown in FIG. 16, the CPU 51 of each of the terminals4 displays, in S105 of the game processing program shown in FIG. 10, theodds value included in the player card information on the message area85 of the bet screen 70. For example, if the odds value included in theplayer card information is ×0.5, a character string “BET WITH BONUS ISINDICATED! YOUR ODDS ARE ×0.5. YOU WILL HAVE A BONUS GAME!” is displayedon the message area 85 of the bet screen 70. Furthermore, when theprocess flow proceeds to S116 of the game processing program shown inFIG. 11, the CPU 51 of each of the terminals 4 executes payout of anaward based on the odds value included in the player card information.

In addition, the present embodiment may be limited such that the bonusgame executed subsequent to Paigow Poker is executed only if the playerside wins in Paigow Poker.

Therefore, it may be arranged such that, for example, the main controlunit 31 executes a game processing program shown in FIG. 17 at a timepoint W2 located in the middle between S13 of the game processingprogram shown in FIG. 11 and S21 of the game processing program shown inFIG. 15. In other words, for the terminal 4 which is determined, in S13of the game processing program shown in FIG. 11, that a bet-with-a-bonusoperation has been performed thereon (S13: YES), the process flowproceeds to S41 of FIG. 17 where the CPU 41 determines whether or notthe player side has won in Paigow Poker at the terminal 4. Thedetermination is based on the determination result of win or loss in S11of the game processing program shown in FIG. 11. Here, if it isdetermined that the player side has won in Paigow Poker of the terminal4 (S41: YES), the process flow proceeds to S21 of the game processingprogram shown in FIG. 15, and the CPU 41 executes the bonus game at theterminal 4. If, on the other hand, it is determined that the player sidehas not won (defeat or draw) in Paigow Poker at the terminal 4 (S41:NO), the main control unit 31 subsequently terminates the gameprocessing program.

Furthermore, it may be arranged such that, for example, each of theterminals 4 executes a game processing program shown in FIG. 18 at atime point W3 located in the middle between S116 of the game processingprogram shown in FIG. 11 and S121 of the game processing program shownin FIG. 15. In other words, for the terminal 4 which is determined, inS114 of the game processing program shown in FIG. 11, that abet-with-a-bonus operation has been performed thereon (S114: YES), theprocess flow proceeds to S131 of FIG. 18 via the reduced payoutprocessing of S116, where the CPU 51 determines whether or not theplayer side has won in Paigow Poker at the terminal 4. The determinationis based on the determination result of win or loss received in S112 ofthe game processing program shown in FIG. 11. Here, if it is determinedthat the player side has won in Paigow Poker of the terminal 4 (S131:YES), the process flow proceeds to S121 of the game processing programshown in FIG. 15, and the CPU 41 executes the bonus game. If, on theother hand, it is determined that the player side has not won (defeat ordraw) in Paigow Poker at the terminal 4 (S131: NO), the game processingprogram executed by the terminal 4 is subsequently terminated.

In this manner, if the main control unit 31 executes the game processingprogram shown in FIG. 17 and if each of the terminals 4 executes thegame processing program shown in FIG. 18, the bonus game executedsubsequent to Paigow Poker is executed only on the terminal 4 at whichthe player side won in Paigow Poker.

Additionally, with the present embodiment, the card gaming machine 1which executes Paigow Poker and the bonus game may be a gaming machineon which the above-mentioned control unit 31 and the terminal 4 areintegrated. In this case, the dealer cards which are the hand cardsdealt to the dealer must also be displayed on the liquid crystal display10 together with the player cards which are hand cards dealt to theplayer. FIG. 20 shows an exemplary the bet screen 70 on which the dealercards and the player cards are simultaneously displayed. In this case, adealer card display area 202, in which face-up images or face-downimages of the dealer cards are displayed on the upper part of the playercard display area 71, is reserved in the bet screen 70 described above.Here, in FIG. 20, face-down images 203 of the dealer cards which aredealt to the dealer are displayed in the dealer card display area 202.

In addition, the playing method of the card game according to thepresent invention can also be applied to Paigow Poker (so-called tablegame) played by the dealer 302 and the player (not shown) on a gamingtable 301, as shown in FIG. 21.

In the table game shown in FIG. 21, the dealer 302 prepares a card deckwhen playing Paigow Poker and deals cards to the dealer and each playeron the gaming table 301. The player places a bet by putting chips on abet spot 303 of the gaming table 301. In this occasion, if chips arefurther put on a particular spot 304 adjacent to the bet spot 303, thedealer 302 determines that a bet-with-a-bonus operation has beenperformed. However, the dealer 302 may also determine that abet-with-a-bonus operation has been performed if special chips are puton the bet spot 303.

In addition, the dealer 302 takes, from the card deck, seven cards withtheir faces down when playing the bonus game, then replaces one of thetaken seven cards with a bonus card, and subsequently, shuffles theseven cards and deals them on the gaming table 301 with their facesdown.

Here, the actual game playing method is similar to that of the cardgaming machine 1 except that the dealer 302 or the player performsdealing or dividing of the cards directly.

In addition, the playing method of the card game according to thepresent invention can also be applied to a bank play.

As described above, with the card gaming machine 1 and playing method ofthe card game according to the present embodiment, there are an ordinarybet operation using only the bet button 75 without using thebet-with-a-bonus button 201, and a bet-with-a-bonus operation using boththe bet-with-a-bonus button 201 and the bet button 75, as the betoperation of Paigow Poker. In this regard, FIG. 19 is a table showingthe difference between the ordinary bet operation and thebet-with-a-bonus operation.

If an ordinary bet operation is performed in Paigow Poker, the oddsvalue is fixed to ×2.0 and no bonus game will be executed subsequent toPaigow Poker, as shown in FIG. 19.

If, on the other hand, a bet-with-a-bonus operation is performed inPaigow Poker, the odds value is fixed to ×1.7 or varied within the rangeof ×0.1 to ×1.7. Furthermore, a bonus game is executed subsequent toPaigow Poker, and a variable number of 100 to 500 credits or a fixednumber of 500 credits will be awarded as a bonus payout to the winner ofthe bonus game. Here, an additional condition such that the player hasto win in Paigow Poker may be posed in order to execute the bonus gamesubsequent to Paigow Poker.

1. A gaming machine comprising: an operation unit for allowing a player to indicate the number of bets; a memory for storing the number of credits held by the player; and a processor programmed to execute a main game using a predefined odds by executing processes of: when the player performs an operation of indicating a predefined number of bets on the operation unit, (a) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds and executing the main game; (b) randomly determining whether or not to award a bonus to the player separately from the main game; and (c) if it is determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits in the memory and storing the sum.
 2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to randomly determine whether or not to award the bonus to the player by executing processes of: (a) executing a bonus game subsequent to the main game; and (b) determining whether or not to award the bonus to the player based on an outcome of the bonus game.
 3. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to add the number of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits in the memory and store the sum, by executing processes of: (a) executing a first lottery after it is determined to award the bonus to the player; and (b) adding the number of credits calculated based on a result of the first lottery to the number of credits in the memory, and storing the sum.
 4. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit allows a player to indicate the number of bets of one of a first type and a second type, and the processor programmed to execute a main game using a predefined odds when the player performs an operation on the operation unit to indicate the number of bets of the first type, and execute, when the player performs an operation on the operation unit to indicate the number of bets of the second type, processes of: (a) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds and executing the main game; (b) randomly determining whether or not to award a bonus to the player separately from the main game; and (c) if it is determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits in the memory and storing the sum.
 5. The gaming machine according to claim 4, wherein the processor is programmed to change the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds and execute the main game by executing processes of: (a) executing a second lottery, upon the player's performing the operation of indicating the number of bets of the second type on the operation unit; and (b) changing the odds to the odds calculated based on a result of the second lottery and executing the main game.
 6. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit for allows a player to indicate the number of bets of one of a first type and a second type, and the processor programmed to execute a main game using a predefined odds when the player performs an operation on the operation unit to indicate the number of bets of the first type, and execute, when the player performs an operation on the operation unit to indicate the number of bets of the second type, processes of: (a) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds and executing the main game; (b) if it is determined that the player wins for the number of bets of the second type, based on an outcome of the main game, randomly determining whether or not to award a bonus to the player; and (c) if it is determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits in the memory and storing the sum.
 7. A gaming machine comprising: a display device for displaying cards which are dealt in a main game; an input unit for allowing a player to enter instructions related to a progress of the main game; an operation unit for allowing the player to indicate the number of bets of one of a first type and a second type for a win of the player's side in the main game; a memory for storing the number of credits held by the player; and a processor programmed to execute the main game by executing processes of: when the number of bets of the first type is indicated by an operation on the operation unit, (a) displaying, upon completion of the player's performing the operation of indicating the number of bets using the operation unit, seven cards which have been dealt as player cards and seven cards which have been dealt as dealer cards on the display device; (b) displaying the player cards which have been displayed on the display device, in an arrangement of a high-hand consists of five cards and a second-hand consists of two cards on the display device, according to a predefined rule, based on the player's instructions using the input unit; (c) displaying the dealer cards which have been displayed on the display device, in an arrangement of a high-hand consists of five cards and a second-hand consists of two cards on the display device, according to the predefined rule; (d) determining whether or not the player side wins, based on each win-or-loss between the high-hands and between the second-hands displayed on the display device, and (e) if it is determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number of credits calculated using a predefined odds to the number of credits in the memory and storing the sum, when, otherwise, the number of bets of the second type is indicated by an operation on the operation unit, (f) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds and executing the main game; (g) if it is determined that the player wins, randomly determining whether or not to award a bonus to the player; and (h) if it is determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits in the memory and storing the sum.
 8. The gaming machine according to claim 7, wherein the processor is programmed to randomly determine whether or not to award the bonus to the player by executing processes of: (a) displaying, in a face-down manner on the display device, seven cards including a bonus card and having an identical back side pattern; (b) changing display of, in a face-up manner, one of the seven cards displayed with their faces down, based on the player's instruction using the input unit; and (c) if the card display-changed with its face up on the display device is the bonus card, determining to award the bonus to the player.
 9. The gaming machine according to claim 7, wherein the processor is programmed to randomly determine whether or not to award the bonus to the player by executing processes of: (a) separately from the main game, determining to award the bonus to the player.
 10. A game playing method which executes a main game using a predefined odds, comprising the steps of: when the player indicates a predefined number of bets, (a) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds and executing the main game; (b) randomly determining whether or not to award a bonus to the player separately from the main game; and (c) if it is determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits held by the player.
 11. The game playing method according to claim 10 comprising the steps of: so as to randomly determine whether or not to award the bonus to the player, (a) executing a bonus game subsequent to the main game; and (b) determining whether or not to award the bonus to the player based on an outcome of the bonus game.
 12. The game playing method according to claim 10 comprising the steps of: so as to add the number of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits held by the player, (a) executing a first lottery after it is determined to award the bonus to the player; and (b) adding the number of credits calculated based on a result of the first lottery to the number of credits held by the player.
 13. The game playing method according to claim 10 executing a main game using a predefined odds when a player indicates the number of bets of a first type, and comprising the steps of: when the player indicates the number of bets of a second type, (a) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds and executing the main game; (b) randomly determining whether or not to award a bonus to the player separately from the main game; and (c) if it is determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits held by the player.
 14. The game playing method according to claim 13 comprising the steps of: so as to change the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds and execute the main game, (a) executing a second lottery, upon the player's indicating the number of bets of the second type; and (b) changing the odds to the odds calculated based on a result of the second lottery and executing the main game.
 15. The game playing method according to claim 10 executing a main game using a predefined odds when a player indicates the number of bets of a first type, and comprising the steps of: when the player indicates the number of bets of a second type, (a) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds and executing the main game; (b) if it is determined that the player wins for the number of bets of the second type, based on an outcome of the main game, randomly determining whether or not to award a bonus to the player; and (c) if it is determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits held by the player.
 16. A game playing method comprising, so as to make a main game proceed, the steps of: when a player indicates the number of bets of a first type for a win of the player side in the main game, (a) dealing, upon completion of the player's indicating the number of bets, seven cards as player cards as well as dealing seven cards as dealer cards; (b) arranging the player cards and the dealer cards into a high-hand consists of five cards and a second-hand consists of two cards, respectively, according to a predefined rule; (c) determining whether or not the player side wins based on each win-or-loss between the high-hands and between the second-hands; (d) if the player side wins, adding the number of credits calculated using a predefined odds to the number of credits held by the player, and when, otherwise, the player indicates the number of bets of the second type for the win of the player side in the main game, (e) changing the odds to a lower value than the predefined odds and executing the main game; (f) if the player side wins, randomly determining whether or not to award a bonus to the player; and (g) if it is determined to award the bonus to the player, adding the number of credits according to the bonus to the number of credits held by the player.
 17. A game playing method according to claim 16 comprising the steps of: so as to randomly determine whether or not to award the bonus to the player, (a) dealing, in a face-down manner, seven cards including a bonus card and having an identical back side pattern; (b) placing, in a face-up manner, one of the seven cards dealt with their faces down; and (c) if the card placed with its face up is the bonus card, determining to award the bonus to the player.
 18. The game playing method according to claim 16 comprising the steps of: so as to randomly determine whether or not to award the bonus to the player, (a) separately from the main game, determining to award the bonus to the player. 